Term(s) in Office: March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877 (two terms)
Vice President(s): Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873),
Henry Wilson (1873–1875), None(1875–1877)
Thesis: From 1869 to 1877, Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States. Before his nomination for the presidency, he graduated from West Point and made his way up the ranks, all the way up to General of the army. Although Grant had little experience with politics before his presidency, he made some good decisions like the Treaty of Washington, which confirmed friendship with England. Another positive during Grant's presidency was the ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870. This gave African American men the right to vote. Grant and his administration also made some bad decisions, like all of the cases of scandal and the panic of 1873. After taking into consideration the positives and negatives of Grant's presidency, I would have to give him and his administration the grade of a C.
Goals: In Grant's first inaugural address, he claimed to want to change the treatment of Native Americans because they were "the original occupants of this land." He tried to do this by civilizing the natives, teaching them to be farmers, and by creating a new Board of Indian Commissioners. Although he had the best intentions, this attempt failed because of settlers moving out west and Native Americans confinement to reservations which caused them to attack the white settlers. Another goal of Grant's presidency, which was stated in his second inaugural address, was civil rights to African Americans. He said, "The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected." No remarkable strides were made to towards this goal during Grant's two terms as president except for the ratification of the 15th amendment, which happened before this statement, and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
Relationship with Congress: During Grant's presidency, the democrats were the majority in the House of Representatives and Senate. This suggests that he did not always agree with his congress, considering he was a republican, which is confirmed by the fact that Grant used 94 vetoes. One of his most important vetoes was against the Inflation bill. If this bill would have been passed, it would have put more greenbacks in circulation. One bill that Grant signed because he agreed with it was the amnesty bill. This removed restrictions against former members of the Confederate States of America. Another set of laws that Grant signed were the Force Acts which protected the rights to vote. One of the laws included in these was the Ku Klux Klan Act which was supposed to suppress their harmful acts towards African Americans.
Positive Outcome: The action made by Grant that had the most positive outcome was the Treaty of Washington. This treaty was made with Great Britain and confirmed our friendly relations. It also resolved the issues concerning the Alabama and damages to US ships during the civil war by which Britain payed the United States $15.5 Million. The treaty also restored fishing agreements with Canada. This had a very positive outcome for the United States because it erased all tension between the two countries which made relations easier.
NegativeOutcome: The decisions made by Grant's administration had the most negative outcome during his presidency because there were many cases of scandal. Through both of his terms as president, there were five major cases of corruption. One of the first was the happening of Black Friday. This came to be when James Fisk and Jay Gould bought an excessive amount of gold to drive up the prices. They were able to do it because they paid off Grant's brother-in-law and entertained Grant on one of their yachts. A second scandal was the Crédit Mobilier. Officers of the Crédit Mobilier company was making a large amount of money off of the Union Pacific Railroad and they tried to cover it up by paying off members of congress. Thirdly, there was corruption in the area of collection taxes. John D. Sanborn was in charge of collecting delinquent taxes and was allowed to keep 50%, although it appears that was not enough for him because he collected more than $400,000 which he kept. Secretary William A. Richardson was forced to resign because the one who hired Sanborn. The next major scandal centering around Grant's administration was the Whiskey Ring. Many federal officials and distillers were pocketing money from liquor taxes. Grant planned on prosecuting all people involved but the involved officials reached his personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock, he took prosecution into his own hands. And finally, the Belknap bribery was a case of corruption during Grant's presidency. War Secretary William W. Belknap was taking bribes from traders at Indian posts. He ended up resigning before he could be impeached.
Influences: One of Grant's greatest influences during his presidency would have to be his dedication to giving African Americans rights. Although the 13th and 14th amendments were already ratified before his presidency, Grant encouraged the 15th amendment to be ratified. He also passed the Ku Klux Klan Act which was included in the Force Acts. These acts allowed federal troops to get rid of a lot of unjust to African Americans.
Conclusion: Therefore, Grant did an average job as president because the country was not really better off or much worse then it already was when he started. That is why he deserves the grade of a C for his presidency. Some of the good things he did includes giving African Americans rights and making amends with Great Britain. Some negatives during his presidency include many scandals and the economic panic of 1873. For having no political experience, Grant could have been a lot worse of a president.
Sources:
18. "Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877." The White House. 5 Apr. 2010.
Ulysses S. Grant
(Born Hiram Ulysses Grant)
Born: April 27th 1822
Died: July 23rd 1885
Political Party: Republican
Term(s) in Office: March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877 (two terms)
Vice President(s): Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873),
Henry Wilson (1873–1875), None (1875–1877)
Thesis: From 1869 to 1877, Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States. Before his nomination for the presidency, he graduated from West Point and made his way up the ranks, all the way up to General of the army. Although Grant had little experience with politics before his presidency, he made some good decisions like the Treaty of Washington, which confirmed friendship with England. Another positive during Grant's presidency was the ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870. This gave African American men the right to vote. Grant and his administration also made some bad decisions, like all of the cases of scandal and the panic of 1873. After taking into consideration the positives and negatives of Grant's presidency, I would have to give him and his administration the grade of a C.
Goals: In Grant's first inaugural address, he claimed to want to change the treatment of Native Americans because they were "the original occupants of this land." He tried to do this by civilizing the natives, teaching them to be farmers, and by creating a new Board of Indian Commissioners. Although he had the best intentions, this attempt failed because of settlers moving out west and Native Americans confinement to reservations which caused them to attack the white settlers. Another goal of Grant's presidency, which was stated in his second inaugural address, was civil rights to African Americans. He said, "The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be corrected." No remarkable strides were made to towards this goal during Grant's two terms as president except for the ratification of the 15th amendment, which happened before this statement, and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
Relationship with Congress: During Grant's presidency, the democrats were the majority in the House of Representatives and Senate. This suggests that he did not always agree with his congress, considering he was a republican, which is confirmed by the fact that Grant used 94 vetoes. One of his most important vetoes was against the Inflation bill. If this bill would have been passed, it would have put more greenbacks in circulation. One bill that Grant signed because he agreed with it was the amnesty bill. This removed restrictions against former members of the Confederate States of America. Another set of laws that Grant signed were the Force Acts which protected the rights to vote. One of the laws included in these was the Ku Klux Klan Act which was supposed to suppress their harmful acts towards African Americans.
Positive Outcome: The action made by Grant that had the most positive outcome was the Treaty of Washington. This treaty was made with Great Britain and confirmed our friendly relations. It also resolved the issues concerning the Alabama and damages to US ships during the civil war by which Britain payed the United States $15.5 Million. The treaty also restored fishing agreements with Canada. This had a very positive outcome for the United States because it erased all tension between the two countries which made relations easier.
Negative Outcome: The decisions made by Grant's administration had the most negative outcome during his presidency because there were many cases of scandal. Through both of his terms as president, there were five major cases of corruption. One of the first was the happening of Black Friday. This came to be when James Fisk and Jay Gould bought an excessive amount of gold to drive up the prices. They were able to do it because they paid off Grant's brother-in-law and entertained Grant on one of their yachts. A second scandal was the Crédit Mobilier. Officers of the Crédit Mobilier company was making a large amount of money off of the Union Pacific Railroad and they tried to cover it up by paying off members of congress. Thirdly, there was corruption in the area of collection taxes. John D. Sanborn was in charge of collecting delinquent taxes and was allowed to keep 50%, although it appears that was not enough for him because he collected more than $400,000 which he kept. Secretary William A. Richardson was forced to resign because the one who hired Sanborn. The next major scandal centering around Grant's administration was the Whiskey Ring. Many federal officials and distillers were pocketing money from liquor taxes. Grant planned on prosecuting all people involved but the involved officials reached his personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock, he took prosecution into his own hands. And finally, the Belknap bribery was a case of corruption during Grant's presidency. War Secretary William W. Belknap was taking bribes from traders at Indian posts. He ended up resigning before he could be impeached.
Influences: One of Grant's greatest influences during his presidency would have to be his dedication to giving African Americans rights. Although the 13th and 14th amendments were already ratified before his presidency, Grant encouraged the 15th amendment to be ratified. He also passed the Ku Klux Klan Act which was included in the Force Acts. These acts allowed federal troops to get rid of a lot of unjust to African Americans.
Conclusion: Therefore, Grant did an average job as president because the country was not really better off or much worse then it already was when he started. That is why he deserves the grade of a C for his presidency. Some of the good things he did includes giving African Americans rights and making amends with Great Britain. Some negatives during his presidency include many scandals and the economic panic of 1873. For having no political experience, Grant could have been a lot worse of a president.
Sources:
18. "Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877." The White House. 5 Apr. 2010.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/UlyssesSGrant
DeGregorio, William. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade. 2005.
"Ulysses S. Grant." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/grant
"Ulysses S. Grant." American Presidents: Life Portraits. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=18